


a promise under the sun

by izumidos



Series: Kurobas Week 2017 [4]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Childhood Friends, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-11
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-12-13 21:45:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11769009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/izumidos/pseuds/izumidos
Summary: Kuroko never breaks a promise. Hell would freeze over first before he'd ever stop trying and break a promise.





	a promise under the sun

**Author's Note:**

> for **Kurobas Week 2017 Day 4: victory/"we'll be the best"**
> 
> no matter what, y'all know that the reason why seirin won in the end is bc of ogiwara being there for kuroko

It starts off innocent, like how all childhood things are.

 

“I can’t wait to join a basketball team soon,” Ogiwara says, a smile splitting his face. “You better do the same or I’ll have to come find you and make you join!”

 

Kuroko can’t help but giggle at his childhood friend’s joy, nodding along to his ideas for their future in basketball. He doesn’t say anything about he’s still a little too weak to guarantee himself a spot on the team to fight Ogiwara; he’s sure that his friend knows that too, but it makes his heart flutter at the thought of his friend being so confident in him.

 

“We’ll be on different teams, but we’ll still be the best together, Kuroko,” Ogiwara beams again, so genuine and honest in his words. It makes Kuroko believe in those words as if they’re a truth.

 

“Yes, but in the end, my team will still win,” he teases back, face open with his emotions and voice teeming with happiness.

 

Ogiwara just yelps at his words and challenges him to another round of streetball; they’re tired, but they play anyway. It’s just another day with the sun beating harshly on them and their heartbeats racing in excitement.

 

.

.

.

 

The memory hurts him still to this day, on the very same court that he promised the two of them would have shared; instead, it’s with a familiar soul turned rogue and trying to force him to submit.

 

He thinks about how he had won with his former basketball team members – not teammates, they’ve stopped being that long ago – but it was a hollow win. The audience had been cheering, but that had been it. Teikou had become bored, looking down at their weary opponents as if they hadn’t toyed with their players the entire time (when in all actuality, that’s all that ever brought them joy in their dark times.)

 

There was no more joy in being the best anymore, and all Kuroko has wanted was to take back his wish of battling Ogiwara on the court. He did end up getting his wish, but fate had deemed him unlucky – maybe from the very start of his friendship with Ogiwara and Teikou. They had all ended up being a path of destruction.

 

How ironic that his dream of being the best had brought out the worst in everyone.

 

But it’s not the time for it right now, not when there’s a loud crowd cheering genuinely in a long time; not when his team is silent and frozen from sheer joy instead of brokenness; and definitely not when the speakers crackle with the announcement of:

 

_ “And the winner of the Winter Cup is Seirin High!” _

 

It sounds as reassurement that ‘ _ yes, they did it’,  _ against all of the odds and against the very same opponents that been deemed invincible for so long. It tells them that all those losses and training camps had been worth it in the end, that all their efforts finally deserved to be rewarded after fighting tooth and nail for it.

 

Kuroko’s legs shake with exhaustion, every limb of his heavy and aching, but he feels light in everything else, just like all the other members of his team. Even when Kagami has to practically carry him over to the line to exchange their greetings, he doesn’t feel the usual shame or embarrassment of it.

 

As Kuroko stands there - or close to it, at least - he watches how Akashi’s eyes are back to its crimson colors and how the smile that crosses his face is the most genuine he’s seen in all his years of knowing him. He silently thanks Akashi’s team for accepting him so quickly as they all converge on him when they part after bowing and shaking hands.

 

Kuroko thinks back to all of his friends - because that’s what they are now, finally - and he can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief at the fact that they’re so much happier now. He feels the heavy guilt that’s been residing in his heart for so long dissipate into nothingness; there’s no more need for guilt when everything’s finally been resolved.

 

His team starts to part from Akashi’s, making their way towards their locker room to change out and celebrate their win. But just before that...

 

A large part of Kuroko knows that he’s here because of his selfish desire to have his friends back, because of his ever-diligent team who are so precious it’s near painful, and because of Kagami – his light who had kept his promise of never separating.

 

But in the back of his head, there’s a tiny part of him that says that as much as they all contributed to this win - Ogiwara’s simple presence was the biggest reason as to why they made it. His own childhood friend that Kuroko had broken the promise and dream of, helped him to fulfill his own.

 

And how beautiful that his dream of being the best brought together everyone again by the very same person he had hurt.

 

_ “We really did end up being the best together, Ogiwara-kun,” _ Kuroko whispers gratefully, looking up towards the stands where a familiar figure sits.


End file.
